AF C-17 Rushes to Antarctica Rescue

A C-17 Globemaster III airlift crew from McChord Air Force Base scrambled to rescue a scientist at McMurdo Station on Sept. 10, Air Force officials said.

The 56-year-old National Science Foundation member required emergency medical evacuation for a possible cardiovascular condition deemed too risky to fly him unescorted from Antarctica to New Zealand. At last word, he was under medical care in Christchurch, the Air Force said.

The McChord airlifter's rescue mission was comprised of a joint active duty and reserve crew, along with a two-person medical team. It is based at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, assigned to Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica with the 13th Air Force.

Capt. Greg Richert, the on-board flight surgeon, in a news release from Hickam said, "We took an oxygen setup, emergency airway kits, a defibrillator and emergency intervention kit, just to be on the safe side."

Richert called his work "the best job in the world -- deploying at a moment's notice, and helping people."

The joint task force is comprised of active duty, National Guard and reserve members from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Coast Guard who annually carry out Operation Deep Freeze to support the U.S. Antarctic Program and the National Science Foundation.

In addition to McChord's aircraft, Coast Guard polar icebreakers based in Seattle support the Antarctica mission.